Take steps to avoid straining your eyes during computer use

Spending long amounts of time using a computer has crept up to become the top cause of eye strain in the UK.

Though sounding relatively harmless, those suffering eye strain could get headaches, blurred vision and even the potentially blinding glaucoma.

Sitting for hours at a time on a computer has become a staple part of our everyday lives,. But, the result of this can be the worsening of pre-existing conditions such as astigmatism.

Sitting in the same position for long periods of time can also lead to headaches, jaw pain and shoulder stiffness.

So what steps can we take to make sure we are looking after out eyes? According to Natural Eye Care, the key to keeping eyes happy and healthy means taking care of the whole body, making sensible lifestyle choices.

If you recognise any of the following eye strain symptoms, it could be time to start making changes:

Natural Eye Care has the following advice to help make those strained eyes better:

Take rest breaks at least every 20 minutes to allow eyes and muscles to recuperate.

Frequently look at something more than 20 feet away.

Blink regularly to keep your eyes moist.

Don’t use the computer for more than 2 hours in any sitting.

Stretch frequently

Don’t work in a dark room and be sure not to sit under one light in an otherwise dark room.

Humidity helps – if your home office’s air is dry, get a humidifier, especially in the winter.

If you wear reading glasses when working on the computer, have your doctor test your vision at the distance of the length of your arm, rather than closer. This is the distance you want to be from the screen.

Increase font size for comfortable viewing.

If you are working at a desk the very best thing to do is to connect your laptop to an external monitor, and even better, add an external keyboard and mouse. This will create less shoulder & arm tension. This is especially true if you are working for more than two hours at one sitting.